


Meet me in Montauk

by somefinditodd



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Angst, F/F, Fluff, michaeng shippers look away, sanayeon shippers also look away, semi-toxic relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:28:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25230904
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somefinditodd/pseuds/somefinditodd
Summary: To Mina, Chaeyoung is everything. She's perfect, like a missing piece that fits just right. But why does meeting Nayeon half naked at a house party seem to derail everything?orAn Eternal Sunshine AU.
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Minatozaki Sana, Im Nayeon/Myoui Mina, Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Comments: 13
Kudos: 78





	1. i: chaeyoung

_“Montauk, New York, is a village at the east end of the Long Island peninsula.”_

The words from the screen of her laptop illuminated her face.

_It’s known for its beaches, like Ditch Plains, with its strong Atlantic surf.”_

Huh. 

Maybe it’s random to be looking up what Montauk is at this hour. 

Mina frowns at the screen. Google hasn’t disappointed her like this before. 

Meet me in Montauk.

“Unnie, are you coming back to bed?” 

Through the darkness of her apartment, she could barely make out Chaeyoung leaning against the doorframe of her room in an oversized shirt and messy hair.

She looks cute.

“Yeah, I just… wanted to look something up.”

Meet me in Montauk.

Her girlfriend looks at her for a moment more, like she wants to say something but is too conflicted. 

Meet me in Montauk.

The words echo in her head for the third time that week. 

\- - -

  
  


It was almost a year ago when she met Chaeyoung on a cloudy, grey day. 

Beep. Beep. 

The sound is so mechanical that it barely registers her mind anymore. Mina packs the items into a small plastic bag and smiles at the customer. 

_Thank you for shopping with us._

Maybe her smile is mechanical, too. 

_Please come again._

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

She woke up with such a headache this morning that she almost called in sick. But sometimes being forced outside makes her feel better. Her apartment felt empty this morning. 

The skies seem so dull and monotonous today. She wonders if it’ll rain later. She hopes it does. Maybe that will make the day more exciting. 

There are a few different types of customers that she recognizes: there are ones that live nearby and get the same few essentials like milk or bread. There are out of towners or last minute shoppers, coming in to pick from their sad selection of wrapped flowers or extremely overpriced boxes of chocolates. 

And then there are the ones in between. 

It’s a pack of grape flavored jelly and some gardening magazine with a man proudly holding his giant tomato harvest on the cover. 

Mina scans the items and asks the customer if they would like a bag. 

The girl looks almost intimidating with her denim jacket and light blonde hair but is cancelled out by her short height and little dusting of a blush on her cheeks. She shakes her head before handing the exact change and wordlessly grabbing her items.

She’ll come back again the next day to get the same items. Except the magazine isn’t about gardening today, it’s one of those video game guides that no one really touches except for a few elementary school kids. 

“I think you’re really beautiful,” are the first words the girl will say to her. Not even a ‘hello’ or ‘good afternoon’ or ‘thank you.’

Mina wouldn’t know how to respond to that. She couldn’t even respond because the girl had gathered her candy and magazine and headed out the door. 

She doesn’t return until two whole weeks. This time, she doesn’t get candy or a magazine. This time she isn’t alone either. 

She’s accompanied by another girl with long, grey hair. The friend sneaks glances at Mina from afar in such an unsubtle way that Mina wonders if she knows how unsubtle she is. 

The Girl (that’s what Mina calls her mentally) doesn’t come up to the counter when her friend is ready to pay for her ice cream. She hangs by the now almost all dead set of flowers that Mina has to dispose of before the end of her shift that day. 

“Is there anything else?” Mina almost feels pathetic for asking because there is clearly nothing else.

“Oh um…” The girl with the grey hair clears her throat and looks at The Girl a few feet behind, who proceeds to look intently at the dead flowers. “That’s it… I guess.”

“Thank you for shopping with us.”

It isn’t until they have sealed the end of the minute interaction that The Girl moves to make her way to the door. The two girls exchange a few heated whispers as they exit with the sound of the door’s bell. 

Later, when she finds out that The Girl is Chaeyoung, she’ll know that Chaeyoung doesn’t really like grape flavored things (which Mina is relieved by, because only only sociopaths or people with no taste can like such a thing.) 

Chaeyoung is perfect.

She exudes a sense of comfort to Mina when she’s around. Not the one that you find with a stranger, but one with familiarity like they’ve known each other before. 

Sometimes it feels like she knows Mina better than herself.

Mina starts to wonder if soulmates do exist. 

\- - -

Yoo Jeongyeon had been a friend of a friend. If she were to think really hard about it, Mina can barely remember a life before Jeongyeon was in her’s. 

The older girl was always loyal and sometimes a little bit too overprotective, but Mina appreciates her nonetheless. 

It is said appreciation that leads them here. ‘Here’ being Yoo Jeongyeon’s late-birthday-but-also-welcome-back-from-postgrad-celebration.

A shorter, more succinct version: an excuse for a party. 

“You must really be close.” Chaeyoung muses as they stand in front of the door, already hearing the noise: people and music mingling in a way that makes Mina chew her lip in agitation. 

Mina nods, but makes no movement to open or knock on the door. She simply stares. Maybe she’s checking if she has telekinetic powers (again.)

When they stepped into the house that night it barely even seemed like a house. There are bright lights changing color, moving around like kaleidoscope patterns and the music is booming at such a level that they could feel it on the bottoms of their feet.

How does Jeongyeon know so many people?

Chaeyoung’s hand fits on hers with ease as she leads the shyer girl further in.

Mina usually wouldn’t get caught dead in a scene like this, but Jeongyeon’s bright smile from across the room is enough for her not to immediately make a beeline towards the door.

Her hair is longer now, and there’s something about her new style that has an air of matured femininity. But still the same Yoo Jeongyeon Mina loves. 

“You came!” They make their way towards the birthday girl, standing next to a few other people-- some Mina recognizes vaguely. Jeongyeon’s cheeks are flushed in a way that tells them the alcohol has been flowing generously all night.

“Of course I came.” Mina reciprocates the warm hug, her hand still holding her girlfriend’s.

Speaking of which, Jeongyeon’s attention had shifted into a neutral one when she looks at their interlaced fingers and naturally towards Chaeyoung’s direction. 

Right. 

“This is my girlfriend Chaeyoung.”

“Nice to finally meet you Chaeyoung,” It felt a bit like the niceties have been forced out of Jeongyeon and Mina frowns, because her friend is usually more welcoming than this. 

Jeongyeon introduces some of the people next to her.

“These are… Nayeon and Sana,” She sounds a little awkward about it, but maybe the alcohol has infiltrated her normally sound social skills. “They’re old friends of mine.”

  
  


One of the newly introduced girls, with the dark hair and fair face (who was introduced as Nayeon) looks like she wants to be anywhere but there.

It’s an oddly depressing feeling when someone you just met seems unable to stand you. 

“We’ll look around the house for a second,” Sana, with the pink hair and way more amicable smile on her face, holds Nayeon’s hand and leads her away, leaving Mina and Chaeyoung with puzzled looks. 

Mina wonders how she hasn’t seen or heard about them before.

“How do you guys know each other?” She asks, the curiosity natural. 

“I just know them… from around.”

Ah, her friend is still a bad liar. Whatever history Jeongyeon has with these girls, Mina trusts her enough to have a valid reason for omitting the truth. So she nods understandable in response to the answer that wasn’t really an answer. 

From across the room, there’s a loud sound of a crash and a squeal. Jeongyeon sighs and runs a hand through her hair. 

“Well, duty calls. Grab a drink and enjoy guys. I’ll catch up with you later.” 

With that, she’s gone. 

“Would it be rude for us to leave now?” Mina pouts to her girlfriend, hoping she would agree and they could make their way back to the quieter confines of her apartment. 

It makes Chaeyoung laugh and tug her down for an affectionate peck. 

“Let’s stay for 30 minutes, ok? If you still want to leave then, let’s go.”

This is one of the blonde girl’s angelic traits. She knows exactly how to appease Mina’s introverted tendency and encourage being social without the pushiness. It’s almost like she had read an extensive manual on Mina before they even dated. 

The manual will be thorough and have a snappy name like: A Guide to the Elusive Mina Myoui (with exclusive photo cards inside.)

“Deal.”

  
  


They hover in the kitchen counter, by a pile of drinks where people occasionally come in to refill or make whatever hellish concoction they want.

Two drinks in, Mina feels less anxious than when they first entered. The lights have shifted in a nicer hue and the thump of the music is pleasant like being cradled by a parent as you drift off to sleep. 

“You’re such a lightweight,” A giggle escapes her before she could refute the statement. “You look cute like this... makes me want to kiss you.” Chaeyoung’s smile is so bright, almost blinding as her hand reaches for the lapel of her jacket and their lips meet. 

This earns some whistles and clapping (?) from random people and Chaeyoung just raises a middle finger as a signal for them to mind their own business.

Mina is always amazed by how her girlfriend exudes an aura of a very intimidating person despite her height.

(“Please stop making fun of my height.” Chaeyoung would pout in that heart-melting way.)

By her fifth? No, sixth?

An unknown number of drinks later, Mina is making her way upstairs in search of the bathroom. 

The giant house that doesn’t feel like a house, is apparently a maze. She’s pretty sure she’s just been opening and closing the same set of doors for the past five minutes. 

When she opens yet another door that she is sure would be the bathroom… She finds that it is definitely not the door to the bathroom. 

The first clue is the fact that there is no sink, but there is a bed. 

The second clue is that there are two people heatedly kissing on top of said bed. 

As if they possessed some sort of sixth sense, the pair on the bed turn to look at her with an equally shocked look in their faces. 

“Whoa,” Mina squeaks before turning around and closing the door. 

From the other side, there’s a loud thud and then several other noises that sound like angry whispers before fast footsteps come close and the door opens. 

Two girls with pink cheeks look at her. 

It finally clicks after a small buffer in her mind, that this is the Nayeon and Sana she met earlier. 

Though she met them together, she didn’t know they were _together,_ together. 

“We’re not.” Nayeon answers her thoughts. But maybe she said it aloud instead of keeping it in. 

“We’re not together.” Nayeon repeats, just in case she missed it. This is a fair assessment because the music is pretty loud.

Mina blinks at her in response. There is still that light fuzzy feeling in her brain that is a combined effect of the alcohol and walking in on two people, like, right before they have sex. 

“I… was looking for the bathroom.”

Sana, with her (somewhat ironically) innocent looking doe eyes points towards the door right next to the bedroom. The one that said ‘toilet.’

“Ok, thank you.” Mina nods politely as if to say ‘continue with what you were doing’ before she proceeds to her original target location. 

She feels the heat of their stare from the back of her head. 

In the bathroom mirror, she doesn’t recognize herself. Her eyes could barely focus and she splashes some water from the sink as a pitiful attempt to sober up. 

Mina is never really one to drink like this but there was just something in the air that made her feel like loosening up. 

Despite her insistence that she is still growing, Chaeyoung is small. Which is really not a problem for Mina. Except for this moment when she can’t find her small girlfriend in the giant house maze. 

Suddenly it all feels a little more overwhelming. The music and the people and the lights. 

When she steps outside the house, there are significantly less bodies lingering in corners with their billowy cigarette puffs. Mina takes a seat by the stairs of the front porch, counting how many street lamps she could see from here. 

By the time she counts to the sixth, she feels the subtle weight of another person sit next to her. Relief is brief, because instead of her girlfriend, it is a pretty faced brunette. 

“Not feeling the party?” Nayeon asks, eyes looking forward to the direction of the empty street. 

“Just needed a second alone, I guess…” Mina murmurs, resting her chin on her knee. 

There’s pause. 

Then. 

“Oh, I’m sorry I--” Nayeon is already making a move to stand while Mina attempts to retract her statement. 

“No it’s-- Really it’s okay.”

“It’s okay?”

Mina nods. Nayeon sits back down. 

“So, you and Sana aren’t together,” Mina starts in a casual tone. She’s not really one to shamelessly pry on the relationships of strangers, but this has already been a night of uncharacteristic oddness. 

The girl next to her gives a small nod. When she realizes that’s the only answer she gets, she continues:

“How do you guys know each other?”

“She was a waitress at this diner I went to. I was there a lot, I guess.”

That’s probably all she could get out of Nayeon. Mina keeps looking at the street.

“I can see up to fourteen street lamps from here.”

“I think I counted up to thirteen.” 

“My eyesight is probably better.” This makes Nayeon laugh, and the sound is lovely. 

There’s something about the carelessness of it, the way she throws her head back completely that enchants Mina for a few seconds. 

Chaeyoung finally finds her a few minutes later. She wraps her arms on Mina warmly from behind and kisses her cheek. 

When the party has almost died down and the sun is almost peeking from the sky, they say their goodbyes politely.

Mina promises to meet up with Jeongyeon again to have an actual conversation about their lives. She notes that Nayeon is nowhere in sight. But Sana is there to wave them off politely. 

“Do you still work at the diner?” She asks the pink haired girl who raises her brows in response, seemingly surprised by the question.

“Not anymore. They shut it down a while ago. It’s a bowling alley now or something.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. We only had a few people come in. And the name never made sense,” Sana chuckles “Who wants to go to ‘Montauk’?” 

It feels like the world is spinning suddenly. 

\- - -

Before she met Mina, Chaeyoung was reckless. She didn’t really care too much about people. At least, not above her selfishness.

The night is quiet. Eerily so. Even with the hum of the city noise, car honks and the occasional scream of an angered neighbor, there was a foreboding stillness in the air. 

Two figures exit a car, parked almost illegally close next to a fire hydrant. They carry a heavy load of cases with them, rolling the luggage in a familiar manner, as if it were a part of their own limbs.

“Is this it?” One whispers, fishing a set of keys from her pocket. The other nods. 

The plated number, 121 is barely even visible under the pale fluorescent lights outside the apartment buildings. 

“This is a nice place, don't you think Dahyun?” The girl with short blonde hair whistles.

In contrast to the rather sketchy neighborhood, the apartment exudes some warmth from the set of fairy lights hanging by the walls and the clearly carefully selected carpet that dons the space of the cold floors. 

“In here.” 

When they get in the room, the woman lying down is so still that Dahyun wonders if-

“She’s… alive right?”

Her colleague, Chaeyoung, who has been at this job almost exactly three months more than her simply rolls her eyes before moving in confidently with her suitcase. 

The lamp next to the bed is on, the only source of light that casts an unflattering glow in the room. But even with this light, the sleeping (and definitely alive) woman looks…

Breathtaking. 

Selfishly, Chaeyoung looks for a moment more before opening the suitcase of equipment to get started. 


	2. ii: nayeon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter shifts back and forth present/past.

Her head hurts. 

When her eyes flutter open and the mid-day rays of the sun flashes against her lids, it feels like torture.

It hurts. 

“Hey,” A hand is on her shoulder. “Are you alright, babe?”

It hurts. It hurts.

Mina could barely remember how they got home last night. 

Did they take a cab?

Her head still hurts.

She remembers Nayeon. And Sana.

There’s something else.

Something is missing but it’s there. She thinks she found something last night.

It’s that feeling, when you’ve misplaced something precious and unearth it again.

It still hurts.

\---

  
  


Mina met Nayeon on a frosty November night. 

It had been a particularly hard day at her job. The ice cream freezer of the convenience store had broken down, resulting in a rather messy, sticky affair that felt above her minimum paycheck.

The city seems to shine so much brighter late at night. She stands by the river, wearing a non-weather appropriate light jacket on top of her drearily stained uniform.

She wonders if things will be better. 

A particularly wild gust of wind hits her and she shivers with chattering teeth as she pulls her jacket closer in vain.

“Isn’t it dangerous to be out here this late?”

An unfamiliar voice comes before she can see the face.

Mina considers her possible responses:

  1. To ignore the person audacious enough to impose on her private moment
  2. To scold the person audacious enough to impose on her private moment



She does neither. 

The person who comes into view is not a person. But an angel. Or maybe the glowing light and halo were just a trick of her imagination.

The beautiful girl is looking at Mina while wearing a weather appropriate jacket and a disarming smile.

Excuse me?

Mina isn’t sure if she said those words exactly. But what came out is an attempt to express the befuddlement that she feels, overwhelmed by how attractive this woman is and the fact that she really shamelessly approached her at this hour. 

What comes out is-

“Eh?”

It makes the girl throw her head back with laughter. The act leaves Mina breathless. 

The expression was apparently enough to make the stranger feel comfortable to step forward and stand right next to Mina, with her warmth present enough to be felt even if they aren’t touching. 

“Do we know each other?” Mina asks.

The girl shakes her head. No.

They stand in silence for a few more moments. Neither expecting the other one to speak, neither feel the need to fill the silence. 

They head down to one of the few diners open that late at night. Some hole in the wall place that has virtually no patron except for a man gently snoring on a corner booth. 

Mina can barely believe how she got there.

(“I’m not interested in befriending a stranger.” Mina frowned at the girl’s outstretched hand. A beautiful stranger asking to be accompanied late at night. She’s seen enough horror movies to know how this goes. 

To her absolute shock, the girl in question makes an adorable pout that tempts her to throw any cautious thought that ran through her mind. 

“Im Nayeon,” She quietly breathes out her name, followed by a wisp of cloud from the cold. “If you tell me your name, we’re not strangers anymore right?”)

When the door makes a little jingle upon their entrance, the employee on the counter is surprisingly cheerful. Her bright smile contrasts greatly against the place that looked like it was washed by a black and white filter. Nayeon notices the waitress’ gaze seems to linger on Mina for a moment before she puts down the book in her hand to reach for her apron. 

“Feel free to sit anywhere.” She says in a volume that isn’t too loud to disrupt the other customer’s slumber.

They sit across each other in the furthest booth from the slumbering man, next to a tinted dark window that offers an obscured scene of the outside. 

“So, Mina,” Nayeon begins with a slightly smug lilt in her voice as she pronounces the syllables of the girl’s name. It’s almost cute how proud she looks of herself.

“Are you an employee or just a die-hard Ministop fan?”

“How did you know my name?”

Nayeon points at the name tag still attached to her uniform.

“Oh.”

She tries to tug her jacket, silently hoping it obstructs the ice cream stain.

The waitress glides in with her smile and shiny pink hair, asks for their order. She introduces herself as ‘Sana’ while pointing at her name tag which makes the two customers share a small smile. 

When she leaves with their orders scribbled down and the promise of the coffee on the way, Mina fiddles absentmindedly with her sleeve. 

“You’re really beautiful, you know.” Nayeon blurts out without prompt. 

Mina feels her cheeks burn. 

The evening is surprisingly fine. Though not completely. There are short silences that linger as they take sips of their coffee and catch each other’s glances through the rims of their cups. 

The silences aren’t the comfortable ones, byproduct of years of friendship and familiarity. Instead the glances they exchange holds a current of excitement. 

  
  


\---

They’re not dating. No.

They’re just not-strangers who text occasionally (it’s mostly Nayeon’s expressive text messages with monotonous one word responses from Mina.)

_ do you guys have that grape flavored candy in your store… <3 _

**_-Im Nayeon-nim_ **

_ You mean those awful grape-flavored jellies? _

**_-pretty Minari~_ **

_ YES!!! _

_ wait _

_ what do you mean awful _

**_-Im Nayeon-nim_ **

_ How many do you want? _

**_-pretty Minari~_ **

_ surprise me _

_ thank u pretty minari  _

**_-Im Nayeon-nim_ **

Maybe Nayeon will come to the Ministop once in a while to pick up some awful flavored grape jellies and spend an unnecessary 30 more minutes chatting with Mina. 

Sometimes she comes right before Mina’s shift ends and sweeps the floor (she looks ridiculous doing this while still wearing her formal office clothes) so they can leave earlier. 

They start knowing more about each other. Things you don’t tell acquaintances or your friend’s friend. 

“Why did you move to Korea?” Nayeon had asked curiously one evening as Mina stocked the shelves with little cans of soup. She’s so precise in making sure each can is in line. 

“To escape.”

“Bad break up?”

“Something like that.”

Maybe they’ll take a slow stroll by the bridge where they met for the first time and their hands shyly brush together. 

“That… That’s so gay. You guys are so dating.” Jeongyeon spritzes the bathroom mirror twice before running a cloth over it vigorously. Through the reflection of the mirror, she meets Mina’s panicked gaze, eyes wide that looks almost comical. 

“We’re not... dating.”

“Okay, so you’re making all this fuss about introducing us to this girl that you’re not... dating?”

“I’m not making a fuss. Stop making these accusations!”

“Stop denying my accusations.”

\---

“So… Nayeon,” Momo starts with narrowed eyes. Next to her, Jeongyeon is making the same face in what is supposed to be an attempt to intimidate the girl. Mina looks at them pleadingly.

“What are your intentions with our Mitang?”

Nayeon, for her part, seems amused by the situation judging by the little smile tugging at her lips. 

“Mitang?” She mouths towards Mina with an intrigued look which only receives an eyeroll in response.

“Ugh, you guys are already communicating without talking. This relationship is a lot further than we thought.”

“Mina,” Jeongyeon starts. “Let’s go get some drinks.”

“W- I think the waiter is supposed to-”

The scrape of Jeongyeon’s chair intercepts the rest of her sentence and her arm is grabbed. Mina shoots one last apologetic glance towards Nayeon before she disappears. 

“You know we’re just messing with you, right?” Mina tears her gaze from Momo and Nayeon sitting alone, looking deep in conversation. 

“What?”

“Nayeon,” Jeongyeon smiles, leaning by the bar and signalling an order to their bartender. “She seems nice. I like her.”

“Oh,” Mina clears her throat. Why did that make her happy? “Good.”

“I think she likes you too.”

“Shut up.”

When Nayeon walks her home that night, both of them slightly tipsy from the alcohol and Momo and Jeongyeon’s company, they don’t even realize when their hands interlaced. The warmth is welcoming against the biting winter wind. 

Something about this reminds Mina of their first meeting. That bizarre night by the river. 

“Well…” Nayeon starts. They’re standing by Mina’s apartment. The walk seemed too short. “I’ll see you after your shift tomorrow?” She asks with a hopeful glint in her eyes like Mina would ever say no. 

“Okay.”

“Okay… um, I’ll just watch you get in from here.”

“Okay.”

By the time Mina is by the door with her keys in hand, a voice calls out.

“Wait!” 

Then Nayeon is sprinting in her direction. It seems comically ridiculous how slow the sprint actually is.

“Did you forget something?” Mina asks, taking a quick glance inside her bag. 

“Yes.” Nayeon whispers when they’re finally close. She doesn’t stop moving forward and they bump against the door. Her hand comes to Mina’s cheek, now cold and it makes her shudder. 

In their short time of being friends, one thing that Mina has always admired about the older girl is her ability to seize what she wants with abandon.

Nayeon doesn’t hesitate when she brings her lips to Mina’s in a gentle kiss. It’s almost innocent, the way their lips brush softly against each other.

When they part, they don’t really. Nayeon rests her forehead against Mina’s with her eyes closed, hands still cupping her blushing cheeks.

“Goodnight, Minari.” She whispers affectionately.

\---

“Something is wrong with me.” She clutches at her head. She’s crying. When did she start crying?

Goodnight, Minari. 

“Nothing is wrong with you.” Chaeyoung says, crouched down next to the girl with a worried expression. “You’re just… hungover. It’ll be gone soon.” 

“No, no. There’s something wrong…” Mina sobs helplessly. “In my head… these…” 

Thoughts? Her imagination? 

Memories.

\---

They didn’t talk about the kiss after it happened. Nayeon dropped by the shop after her shift with some sandwiches from her work.

(“You know my workplace already has sandwiches, right?” Mina chuckles when the older girl mindlessly puts the paperbag in her hand and moves to hold her other.

“Yes I do. But this one is much nicer.” Is the only response she gets as they walk together with their joined hands swinging. 

The sun is still up, the dizzying heat from earlier in the afternoon has lulled into a more pleasant warmth against their skin. Thankfully, she had the mid-shift for the day and they could enjoy their walk with a brighter view. 

A part of Mina starts to wonder if she just imagined the kiss from the night before. 

For now she wanted to enjoy the moment. Their hands swing. 

Up. Down. 

“I was wondering if you would want to go on a date.” Nayeon asks, with an unusual hint of shyness in her voice. 

It stills. 

Mina stopped walking (which also made Nayeon stop walking.)

“A date?” She could only echo back.

“Yeah, you know. Dinner and a movie. Maybe hold hands like this.” Nayeon lifts their hands up, as if to make a point. “Maybe kiss again.” She looks away at that part like she’s scared Mina will reject her or say that the kiss was just from her active imagination. 

She does neither. 

It seems out of character, but something about Nayeon’s ability to just act according to what she wants to do has influenced Mina. The influence is applied immediately when she moves to hold Nayeon’s other hand, effectively forcing her to face her direction. 

“I would love to,” She answers with the biggest smile. “But I don’t think I can wait for the date to do this again.”

With that, throwing her instinct that tells her she probably shouldn’t be kissing someone in a public area in broad daylight, she moves to close the gap between them.

This kiss is different from the last. Mina moves her lips against Nayeon’s in a way that leaves the older girl a little breathless. 

\---

“How do you know them again? Sana and Nayeon from the party?”

Jeongyeon makes that face again. The same one from the night of the party like she’s been asked a million dollar question at the climax of a widely televised game show. 

Mina doesn’t usually pry. But she knows. 

She knows. She knows. 

That expression feels like a confirmation. 

“Jeongyeon,” Mina begins again. It feels like a desperate plea. “Do I know Nayeon?”

“What are you talking about?” The tone in her friend’s voice is one she’s rarely heard. It’s a mixture of exasperation and denial, almost like a warning against something she doesn’t quite know. 

“Are you really going to lie to me like this? Make me feel like I’m just making it all up?”

She needs it. She needs the confirmation to come out of her mouth or she might actually go fucking crazy.

“It was your choice.” Jeongyeon finally says, placing her cutlery back on the table. 

“My choice?”

  
“Yes. You specifically asked us not to mention her again.” There are tears forming in Jeongyeon’s eyes as she says it. Like she’s opening up a painful set of memories. “You asked us to pretend what happened between you--  _ everything  _ didn’t exist.”


	3. iii: sana

  
  


There is one thing Nayeon is sure of. She does not want to be here. 

‘Here’ is the midst of Yoo Jeongyeon’s ridiculously lavish house party.

She’s sociable enough to handle herself in these situations. One might say she is excellent at striking conversations with strangers.

It’s just-

_ She’s _ here. 

Nayeon’s eyes have darted to the door all night. Jeongyeon told her that Mina is coming. So, it’s not a surprise. 

Though, knowing Mina, the loud music and lights might deter her. 

By her fourteenth glance at the door. 

She’s here. She’s here. 

“She really doesn’t remember anything?” Sana is sat next to her on the couch, batting her eyes in a way that makes it look like one of the light fixtures hits it in an inhumanly glittery way. It’s almost blinding. 

Nayeon doesn’t want to talk about it. 

Well, she hasn’t really talked about it. Not for almost a year. 

It’s a blessing and a curse to have the chance to erase things like that. Like it doesn’t exist anymore. 

But someone has to keep it, right? The memories. 

Sana has been… a good fixture in her life. She’s like a brilliant source of light in a dark room. So selfless and… there.

The question of their relationship is certainly a murky one. The look in Jeongyeon’s face when they walked in together can probably surmise how odd the whole thing is. 

Nayeon has thought it more simply. They’re just there. Together but not together. Two lonely people clinging onto each other so they won’t be alone. 

“That technology,” Sana starts with no malice, only a hint of amazement in her voice. “It can really just erase everything.”

When she feels warmth on her thigh, she looks down to see Sana’s hand there. She didn’t realize she’s been anxiously tapping her foot. 

“Come here,” Jeongyeon is standing her up already, handing a small cup to both of them. “You need this.”

It’s some sort of shot with maybe two drops of juice to poorly alleviate the absolute burning path it makes as it slides down her throat. Whatever it is, it’s strong enough to spread warmth in her body like someone lit a tiny fire everywhere. 

Through a shared wince with Jeongyeon, she meets Sana’s eyes and then the still full tiny cup in her hands. Nayeon barely thinks before grabbing it and throwing it back, hoping the liquid in the cup would be a savior and just poison her before having to proceed with the rest of the night. 

“Oh shit.” Jeongyeon’s voice interrupts her mini prayer. 

She’s already smiling and waving towards the entrance and Nayeon… can’t look. 

Her hair is different. 

That’s the first thing she notices when Mina walks in, hand in hand with a shorter woman. 

Nayeon wonders. 

She wonders if that’s what they looked like when they were together. Her mind photoshops the other woman for a moment, and instead it is her standing there next to her ex-girlfriend (is that even the right term? Is someone your ex girlfriend if they don’t know you exist anymore?)

They look happy together, Nayeon and Mina. It’s perfect. 

But it’s not real. 

Mina and her new… someone are walking towards them, shattering the illusioned version she conjured up in her mind. 

“You came!” Jeongyeon exclaims. 

When she says,

“This is my girlfriend Chaeyoung.”

It’s so casual. Like how one might speak about the weather or what flavor of ice cream they might try. 

Nothing like the gut wrenching pain it induces. 

Nayeon thinks she forgot how to act like a normal person. Is this the part where she smiles?

She barely manages to introduce herself without bolting. Sana’s hand is warm on her waist. She’s thankful she’s there. 

Mina’s hair is longer. Her face looks a little bit more defined. 

She’s wearing a purple dress and she looks like an angel. 

Her beauty marks are still there. The most prominent ones on her nose and by her lips. 

Nayeon tries not to stare. 

She tries. 

She can’t look at Mina in the eye because otherwise she’ll burst into flames. Maybe the warmth from the two consecutive shots are catching up to her. 

Sana’s hand on her waist is ushering her away. She makes some excuse to get them out of there and Nayeon is (yet again) thankful. 

She takes a sip of water and it feels good. Nayeon drinks almost half of the entire bottle until she has to breathe again. Sana just stares at her with the cap in her fingers. 

She doesn’t say things like ‘are you ok?’ or ‘how do you feel?’ because those questions are ridiculous and the answer is laid out anxiously guzzling water in front of her. 

Instead, she takes the older woman’s shaky hand and leads her upstairs. 

How does one define friendship? Is it being there for each other? Caring about the other’s well being?

If so, yes. Nayeon and Sana are friends. 

There are different types of friendships too. Your friend who stays up on the phone with you all night until one of you falls asleep. One who texts you on your birthday or makes a sentimental Instagram post with sappy emojis. 

Sana and Nayeon are not those type of friends. 

“Fuck.” Nayeon whispers in the darkness, nothing but the warm weight and the heavy, heated air from a pair of lips against her neck filling her senses. 

Sana’s thigh is slotted between her legs, the rocking pressure against her makes an involuntary whimper escape before she could hold it back. 

Maybe they shouldn’t be doing this. For one, it simply is not good friend etiquette to have sex in your friend’s house. At least they’re not doing it in Jeongyeon’s room. 

Fingers weave up to her hair, grabbing and the locks before making a hard tug. Nayeon’s eyes flutter open to meet Sana’s. She could barely make out the outline of her face, partially lit by the streetlamp’s glow past the bedroom window. 

“Are you drunk?” Sana whispers, her breath has a hint of bubblegum or some other fruity thing. 

Nayeon thinks back to the shot that she took. And the other one that Sana didn’t. 

The alcohol is there. Yes. But Mina’s presence seems to have overpowered that as the source of her emotional turmoil. Not that she would actually say that. Especially right now. 

“No.” She answers simply. 

For a moment Sana looks unconvinced. There’s something else from her eyes that Nayeon can’t catch. Maybe she should turn a lamp on or something.

And Sana’s lips are on hers again, hands on her face and warm weight pressed firmly against her. Nayeon’s hand moves from her bare leg to under the tight material of her dress--

The lips are gone and the sound of chatter and hum of music is suddenly louder. 

By the door is Mina who barely opens her mouth in shock before the door is slammed again. 

This could truly be a scene from a racy slapstick comedy. It’s laughable. 

If not for the way that Nayeon feels lightheaded when she pushes Sana’s body away, only to stumble herself out of the bed. 

“Fuck!” Her tone contrasts vastly from the first time she said that in that bedroom. 

Mina doesn’t care. 

She doesn’t even know them. This is the first time they’ve ever met. 

“We’re not together.” Nayeon says it firmly, inching away from Sana with one microscopic step to the side. 

When Mina walks away, they could only keep looking at her as she disappears back to a closed door. 

Sana doesn’t say ‘how could you do that?’ or ‘if we’re not together, what are we?’

Instead, she puts on her most dazzling smile with her shiny eyes and asks Nayeon if she wants another drink. 

\---

Sana meets Nayeon and Mina on a cold winter night. 

The diner she works at barely gets any traffic at this point in the night, despite the owner’s insistence that they’re targeting some sort of gap in the market by being open for 24 hours. 

(“I’ve been to this place in America, Sana-ya. I know what I’m doing.” He had said confidently after the second night with barely any traffic of customers.)

She can’t complain too much, though. The peace allows her to finish some reading and thinking-- the latter sometimes proves to be a negative thing. 

There’s the single customer by his regular booth, snoozing after eating three whole sugar cookies.

The bell by the door rings and she looks up from her book. 

The most beautiful woman in the world walks in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> emo hours [open]

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't stop thinking about writing this story since I read that this is one of Nayeon's favorite films (the taste)


End file.
